Gotham Asset Management LLC Acquires 1,828 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 20.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 10,839 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,828 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $6,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $1,175,756,000. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its stake in KLA by 381.3% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $462,085,000 after buying an additional 580,967 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in KLA by 114,444.5% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $215,809,000 after buying an additional 342,189 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter worth $187,212,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in KLA by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,455,161 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $916,926,000 after buying an additional 292,907 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $830.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $802.74.

KLA Stock Up 4.7%

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $795.90 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $681.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $685.71. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. The business’s revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.26 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. KLA’s payout ratio is 27.63%.

KLA Profile

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related electronics industries worldwide. It operates through three segments: Semiconductor Process Control; Specialty Semiconductor Process; and PCB and Component Inspection.